


A Familiar Face

by Blurbaderp



Category: Homestuck
Genre: Alternate Universe - High School, Childhood, F/F, Fluff, M/M, Umm probably gonna add more later
Language: English
Status: In-Progress
Published: 2014-03-24
Updated: 2014-08-18
Packaged: 2018-01-16 19:51:44
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 3
Words: 6,445
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/1359742
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/Blurbaderp/pseuds/Blurbaderp
Summary: <blockquote class="userstuff">
              <p>John is 7 when he meets a super-cool blonde kid with pointy shades. They become close friends in the week that John is in Texas, but eventually he has to go back to Washington, and they mostly forget about each other. Nine years later, John ends up moving to Texas with his Dad and begins to attend the local high school, where he is introduced to a boy that seems to remind him of someone...</p>
            </blockquote>





	1. Chapter 1

"...Forty seven, forty six, forty five..."

  
You hesitate for just a second to make sure Jade isn't peeking. Once you're sure she's keeping her hands stuck over her eyes, you giggle impishly and scamper away from your cousin as quickly and quietly as you can. You glance around the park, trying to think of somewhere to hide. The playground has lots of fun crevices and holes to jump out from, but it'll be the first place she looks, and you want to make it harder this time. She mightn't think of the picnic tables on the other side of the green, but it'd be hard to actually hide yourself in them in the first place. You stop running and bite your lip, thinking.

  
"...Nineteen, Eighteen, seventeen..."

  
Darn! You need to find somewhere good, quick. You're about to head towards the slide when you see an opening in the outer fence, where one of the bars was bent. A mischievious smile plays on your lips as you run toward it. You just about manage to squeeze through and dive behind a bush just as Jade reaches zero. From your position on the ground, you watch through the underbrush as she drops her hands, turns, and heads for the playground. You snicker to yourself. You chose well.

  
You pull yourself up onto your knees. Jade won't find you for a while; you have some time to spare. You lift your head and take in your surroundings.  
You're standing underneath an oak tree that must be as tall as a building; it's certainly at least as tall as your father and Jane put together, you think. Long weeds have grown in the shadow of the oak tree, protected from the harsh Texan sun. Other shrubs and trees have overgrown around here too; obviously noone comes in to this little shaded grove because of the iron fence.

  
You sigh and look through the bars again. No sign of Jade. Finding good hiding places is fun, but it can be a bit boring, too. You fall onto your back to look up at the sky.

It is that moment when you notice someone peering down at you from a branch on the tree.

You jolt up and giggle.

"Wow that's a great hiding spot! I didn't see you up there at all!"

The boy swings down easily and stands over you, allowing you to get a good look at him. He looks to be about your age. He's got snowy blond hair that's a lot neater than yours, funny pointy sunglasses on his face, and he seems to exude confidence.

"Not hiding," he informs you.  
"Oh. It's still a pretty neat spot!"  
"I guess so." He shrugs.  
"My name's John!" you announce, sticking out your hand like your Dad does when he meets people.  
"I'm Dave," he replies, shaking your hand. He glimpses up at his former perch.

"Wanna climb up with me?" he asks.

You glance up through the leaves and your brow furrows.

"I'm not sure I can..."  
"Come on, I'll show you, it's really easy."  
"Okay..."

You're not quite reassured, but he leads you to the other side of the tree where there's some lower footholds.

"Here, look, you step here first, and then..."

He pulls himself up quickly and gracefully. You bite your lip. You lift your right foot up like he did and try to catch hold of the trunk, but it's no use. You tumble down and onto your bottom. After a few more tries, you manage to grab awkwardly onto the largest branch and Dave pulls you up by the arms.

"Thank you!" you say as you scramble to sit next to him.  
"You're a really good climber."

He shrugs and stays quiet. You stare at his face.

"Why are you wearing those? They look funny." You point at his sunglasses.  
"They're totally rad, that's why," he informs you.  
"They're like the ones my Bro wears and he's the coolest person in the world! Plus it kind of hurts my eyes if I don't..."  
"Oh."

You swing your legs and look down. From up here, you have a decent view of the park through the branches. You spot a blonde grown-up with a cap and pointy shades like Dave's lying against a tree reading a magazine.

"Is that him? Your brother?" You point. He nods his head.  
"Where's your Mom and Dad?" you inquire innocently.

He pauses for a long while.

"They're gone." He finally says, looking down at his feet.

You inspect his face and look away slowly.

"My Mom's gone too."

The two of you sit like that silently for a moment. Eventually, he lifts his head to look at you and suddenly takes your hand.

"Come on, let's climb onto that other branch."

With a lot of help from Dave, you manage to struggle onto the bigger, longer branch just above you. You have a much better view from up here, you notice, and too late, you realise that others have a much better view of you, too.

"FOUND YOU!" Jade calls out from below. You curse to yourself but chuckle.  
"Okay, coming!"

You look over at Dave.

"That's my cousin, Jade. We were playing hide and seek," you explain.

You glance down at her and back towards Dave, smiling warmly.

"Hey, do you wanna play with us?" you ask hopefully.

His pointed shades face toward you. He shrugs again and smirks.

"Okay."

He once more aides you as you both climb down the oak tree. You run over to Jade with Dave in tow.

"Hey Jade, this is Dave, can he play with us?"  
"Okay!" she says, grinning.  
"It's your turn to look though."

You nod. You point over to where your big sister is sitting on the grass, watching the three of you.

"I'll go over there and count, then."

The two of them nod and you run over to Jane. She smiles at you as you begin counting.

"No peeking," she reminds you.

"I know, I know!"

You turn your back and begin counting. When you've finished, you run towards the playground. Sure enough, Jade's hiding behind one of the slides and you find her almost instantly. Dave turns out to be a much better hider, though. You search everywhere you can think of for him, but no dice. Finally, when you shout out that you can't find him, he pulls himself out from under the big roundabout, smirking.

The three of you keep playing for a few more hours. Any time it's Jade's turn to look, Dave helps you find cool new hiding places. You're really cheerful and having lots of fun together, but of course it has to end. Jane strolls over to you and tells you and Jade it's time to go back to Grandpa's house. You moan and turn to Dave.

"Will you be here tomorrow?" You ask.  
"Yeah, I think so, Bro will probably let me."

You grin. 

"Great! I'll see you here tomorrow then!"

You hug each other goodbye and then you trot off back home with your sister and cousin.  
\--------------------------------------------------------------

The following morning, you wake up in your apartment, as always, quickly jump out of bed, and plod out of your room in your pyjamas. Your brother is asleep on the couch. You nudge him.

"Bro."

He ignores you.

"Bro." You poke his face.  
"What." He doesn't open his eyes.  
"Can we go to the park again today?"

"Fine, but later. Let me sleep for now." He turns over, leaving you facing his back. You tug at his arm.

"No, now," you complain. "John could be waiting for me, he didn't tell me when he was going to be there today."  
"Who's John?" he inquires sleepily.  
"My new friend." you reply, still trying to pull him off the couch.  
"That kid you were hanging with yesterday?" He finally opens his eyes and turns back to you.  
"Yeah."

He rubs his eyes and sighs.

"Okay, give me ten minutes and I'll get you some breakfast."

He sits up and stretches. You scurry back into your room and pull on some clean clothes and grab your shades. When you get back into the kitchen, he has some toast and apple juice out on the counter for you. Hell yes. You munch and gulp it all down and then you're leading him out the door, into the elevator, and towards the park.

When you get there, he relaxes into his usual spot and you search around for John. He's not there yet. Damn. You sulk towards the tree you were climbing yesterday and raise yourself to the taller branch again to keep a lookout.

An hour later you see John run onto the grass ahead of his big sister, laughing. You grin to yourself and wave to him. You catch his eye and he beams back at you. You beckon him over and he gallops over, full of excitement. You drop down to the ground.

"Hey Dave!" he chimes.  
"Hey John," you answer. "Hey, I found something really cool I want to show you."  
"What is it?" He asks curiously.  
"Come on, it's up the tree, I'll show you."

He gives you a bucktoothed grin and follows you. You have to give him a lot of help again as he's still not as good a climber as you, but eventually he manages to pull himself up and tries to mimic your stance on one of the few thick branches that are high up in the tree, his arm wrapped around another. You point just above you.

"There, see it?"

His eyes follow your finger to where a bundle of branches is balanced in the nook of a nearby ash tree. His eyes widen.

"A nest?" His eyes gleam. "What kind of bird made it?"  
"A crow I think. But look." You lean closer.  
"See? There's eggs in it."

His mouth widens in amazement as he observes the little bluish-green round things.

"Oh my gosh! That is so cool!" 

He reaches out to get a better look, unfortunately losing his balance in the process. He almost falls before you grab his arm.

"Let's play on the ground today." You suggest.

His face reddens. "Okay." 

So you play tag for a while, but it's not really fair because you're much faster than him and are almost never caught. You enjoy yourselves regardless and it's not long before your Bro is calling you over to leave and get lunch. You tell John you have to go and he nods. You both agree to come the next day again.

And so it goes for the next week. You play different games every day. Sometimes Jade comes too and the three of you play together. You and John develop a secret handshake that you only get to use for two days before he has to leave.

"I'm going back home tomorrow." He says sadly.

It's time for you both to leave and Bro is trying to summon you over.

"I know." You frown.  
"I don't want to go, I want to stay here and play with you every day."  
"Me too."

Jane is calling John's name. He looks back at her and gestures to her that he'll only be a minute. He turns back to you and hugs you.

"Next time I come down we can play again." He grins at you.  
"Yeah, definitely." You smile back.  
"I'll see you then." His smile falls again.  
"Yeah, I guess so." 

And you both wave and walk over to your respective siblings; looking forward to your next meeting.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Okay this is my first fic and is probably going to be really inconsistent with quality and stuff but hopefully it's okay :) I could feel it getting worse as that chapter crept on but who knows? The next chapter might be better ^^


	2. Chapter 2

  
A loud clanging pulls you out of your formerly cozy snooze time, and you grudgingly snap open your eyes. You automatically go to smack the alarm clock beside your pillow when you see the time glowing in green. It's 7:30; just enough time for you to shower, eat, and be out the door by 8:30.

You sigh and slip out of bed slowly; yawning and ruffling your dark, already messy hair. You rub the goop from your eyes and look at the boxes around your room. You really should finish unpacking. You've been here a week and still haven't taken anything out except some bed sheets and, of course, your movie posters. Nicholas Cage looks out at you from the wall opposite your bed. You give him an understanding nod, stand up, and head out of your room, across the landing, to the bathroom.

After your shower you pull on the simple long-sleeved blue top and jeans you picked out last night, and slip into your regular trainers. You slide your glasses onto the bridge of your nose carefully. The sun is shining in brightly from the window. You smile just as brightly. You're a bit nervous about today, but the nice start makes you think your first day in this new school won't be so bad.

The scent of eggs and toast hits your nasal cavities and you bound down the stairs to the kitchen where your Dad is sitting reading the paper.

"Morning Dad!"

He looks up when he hears your voice, and smiles.

"Good morning son. Are you ready for school?"

"Yep, I made sure I had everything done last night."

"Okay, eat your breakfast and we can go."

You swallow down the eggs and toast and quickly place your plate in the dishwasher. You run back up to your room, grab your backpack, and head out of the house with your father.

"Have you talked to Jade?" he enquires, when you're finally on the road.  
"Yeah, she said she'd be waiting at the front of the school to show me around," you reply cheerily.

The two of you spend the rest of the journey in idle chit chat. When you finally pull up to the school, a bubble of anxiety rises up in you and you take a deep breath. Your father reaches over to give you a quick hug.

"I am so proud of you son. Good luck today."

You nod and exit the car. After a quick scan of the crowd, you spot Jade near to the front door chatting to a blonde girl dressed in black and purple. You head in their direction. Jade quickly sees you and grins.

"Hi John!" she greets you.  
"Hey Jade!" You smile.  
"Oh- John, this is Rose. Rose, this is my cousin John I was telling you about."

The girl, Rose, looks you over and smiles in a way that makes   
you feel slightly intimidated.

"Lovely to meet you John," She says slowly. You try to keep your smile natural.

"You too."

Jade grabs your arm and pulls you towards the door.

"Come on, we'll show you around."

The two girls walk you around the whole school, pointing out important rooms like the cafeteria, music room ("There's a piano you can practice on!") and some of the science labs. You show them your schedule and they help you find the rooms you'll be in. You all chat as they lead you around. You realise quickly that Rose is fiercely intelligent, unsurprisingly; but she is also quite kind and friendly too.

They leave you at the lockers to organise your things and Jade reminds you where to find them during lunch. You wave goodbye and turn to your locker to drop in some of your heavier textbooks. The bell rings and you hop off to your first class, Biology.

Biology had always been your favourite subject at school and so you enjoy the class immensely. Although, being new, you sit by yourself in the class for now, it doesn't really bother you; you're so engrossed in the lesson you don't even notice what anyone else in the class is doing. When the bell rings, you go to the teacher to discuss what you'll need to catch up on. It seems manageable enough to you; you'll be ahead in some parts, anyway.

After that you have precalc which is quite a bit more boring, and so you let your eyes wander around the class as the teacher drones on. You notice a quite grumpy-looking kid in the corner who's harshly whispering at a girl sitting beside him who has an amused, wicked grin on her face. Despite the 'hushed' tone he's still speaking loudly enough that you can hear what he's saying.

"Where the Fuck is he? God DAMN it I do not want to have to suffer through Chemistry without him. As much of a complete and utter insufferable ass he is, I think the few shitty brain cells I have left will vault themselves out of my fucking eye sockets if I have to listen to her explain fucking catalyst mechanisms by myself."

The girl cackles quietly and answers him, but you can't hear what she's saying so you turn back to the teacher and focus on the complex numbers on the board.

After a few more classes, you head to the library door to meet Jade and Rose for lunch. They're there already, and you head off towards the canteen together. When you arrive, Rose you through the crowded room to a table where an olive-skinned girl is waiting. Rose slips into the seat next to her and they share a brief amorous exchange before turning to you.

"John, this is Kanaya, my girlfriend."

You nod, smile nervously and reach out your hand.

"Nice to meet you."

She takes your hand lightly and shakes it slightly.

"And you as well, John."

Kanaya is just as refined as her girlfriend but she doesn't have the same analytical air that you get from Rose. She is dressed quite fashionably in what appears to be a homemade red and black outfit. You and Jade sit down in the seats opposite her and Rose.

"So John, how have you found the school so far?" Rose asks.  
"Umm not too bad I guess," you say, pulling your lunch from your bag.  
"It just feels a bit awkward being the new kid I guess? I mean I don't really know anyone in my classes yet, obviously..."

Jade grabs your arm and loops it with hers.

"Well luckily your next class is with me! It'll be fun having someone cool to talk to in Chemistry. And I can help you catch up with what we've done!"

You relax a little and give her a small smile. Jade has really been such a help to you since moving here. The day you arrived, she gave you a tour around town while your Grandpa helped Jane and your Dad unpack the truck. You're glad you'll get to see her more often now. You used to love coming to Texas when you were younger, but as you got older, your Dad had less free time because of his job, and so you rarely got to leave Washington. Jade, Grandpa, and sometimes even Jake still came up to visit every so often though.

As you all eat lunch, the girls continue playing 20 questions with you. They ask you about Washington, your family, moving. You're surprised to find that Rose is also from outside of Texas; she and her mother lived in New York before she was seven.

"When my Aunt and Uncle died, my Mother wanted to bring my cousins up to live with us in New York; however my eldest cousin said he was more than capable of handling himself and his brother in Texas. My mother agreed, but we still moved here as soon as we could, so she could 'keep an eye' on them."

"Woah, your Mom sounds so cool! So what age is your other cousin? Does he go to our school?"

"He does, in fact. We are the same age; however although we get along quite well, he prefers to maintain with his own small group of companions during school hours usually."

"Oh."

You're a bit disappointed that you probably won't be meeting this kid soon. You're hoping to make as many friends as possible in your first week, and if Rose's cousin were anything like her, you think you'd probably get along quite well.

"He appears to be absent today in any matter. Possibly under the weather I suppose, but more likely still asleep. It happens often enough with him."

And then you're on the topic of sleep, Jade is talking about her narcolepsy, and pretty soon it's time to go to class. You make a quick stop at your lockers to grab some books but soon Jade is pulling you through the door of the chemistry lab. You sit with her by the window and watch some of the other kids file in to the room. You see the grouchy kid from earlier stomp in and slump into a chair in the back of the room with a scowl on his face. You nudge Jade.

"Hey, who's that guy?" you whisper. She glances back in the direction your eyes are pointing.

"Oh that's... Karkat, I think his name is? I don't really know him that well."

You shrug. The teacher begins the lesson and you forget all about him as you try in vain to understand her description of catalysts. After the class Jade agrees to come over to your house during the week for some extra help and you give her your thanks.

By the end of school you're exhausted. Everyone organises their stuff and immediately heads out the front door as soon as possible. You trade Chumhandles with Rose and Kanaya as you're waiting for your transportation home to arrive. Your Dad is there before long, and you bid them goodbye and thank them again. When you're on the road again your Dad speaks.

"So how was your first day of school, son?"

You smile and sigh gently, looking through the glass at the trees passing by.

"Really, really good."

He smiles.

"That's wonderful son. There's a cake at home for celebration."

You turn and beam at him.

"Thanks Dad."

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Sorry for the delay! Birthdays, assignments, and exams getting in the way-finished soon though and hopefully then I'll be better with timing :P I guarantee that I will be finishing this story though, no matter how long it takes or how long any of my absences are! (Though feel free to message me scolding me for not updating if it's as long again!) 
> 
> I'm still not totally happy with my writing but hey, gotta start somewhere right? :P Next chapter will be Dave!


	3. Chapter 3

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Ha ha this took forever oh god don't hurt me
> 
> I won't bore you with excuses, but needless to say, laziness was involved. I hope I made up for it with the fact this chapter is a bit longer than the others so far :)  
> This is my first real attempt at writing Dave, hope I didn't screw up too badly; let me know what you think!

You are awoken from a particularly restful bit of shuteye by a loud cawing in your ear. Without getting up, you grab your shades from the desk beside your bed and slowly open your eyes to view the culprit. This time, it's not one of Bro's weird wake up calls, but is, in fact, just another brainless feathery asshole. You groan and swipe your arm out at it, causing it to quickly depart through the open window.

You're about to turn over and close your eyes again before you catch sight of the clock two feet from your face. Crap. It's almost one. Not even worth heading to school now. Begrudgingly, you decide to get up. As tired as you are, you really don't want to laze around the house being a useless piece of shit all day. Besides, you've got shit to do.

You snatch your jeans from the end of the bed, pulling them on over your boxers, but get a fresh tshirt from your closet. You maneuver your way out of your bedroom and into the kitchen in your bare feet.

Bro's on the couch playing another one of his shitty Tony Hawks games. The two of you greet each other.

"Sup."

"Sup."

"Going to school today?"

"Nah, too late. Just gonna grab something to eat."

You avoid the fridge full of shitty swords and manage to find some pop tarts in the cupboard under the microwave. You stick them in the toaster, and in two minutes, Voilà! Breakfast is served. You gobble it down and head back in to your room.

First thing's first: the aforementioned shit you have to do. You open MS paint and manage to throw together a new Sweet Bro and Hella Jeff in under five minutes. It's been over two weeks since you posted the last one; people might think the artist had finally come to his senses and stopped posting these god awful comics. This'll fix that.

After that you make sure to update your various other ironic blogs and websites before settling in front of your turntables and mixing some ill beats for a few hours. About five O' clock, Bro leans his head around your door.

"Ready to go to the Lalondes' place?"

"Yeah hang on."

You slip on your converse and head out the front door with Bro. The two of you get in his piece of shit car and head out on the road towards Rose's house.

It's basically a tradition enforced by Roxy that you come to their house weekly for dinner. You've been doing it for years, ever since they moved to Houston. It's not something you mind, in fact, you appreciate it a lot, as it's the only time in the week you're guaranteed a wholesome meal. Not that Bro doesn't feed you; but Doritos are never considered a side dish in the Lalonde household.

You also like seeing Rose. She's pretty cool and fun to hang out with. She appreciates the art of irony almost as much as you do and you have fun teasing each other. Sometimes her psychological banter can get a bit exhausting, but you can also sometimes coax her into rapping with you which is pretty sweet.

The car pulls into the huge driveway. The two of you step out and head towards the huge metal door. Roxy had a certain taste in masonry; this house was quite similar to the one they had lived in back in New York, though Roxy couldn't find a single house near Houston that had a river running through it. The modern feel is still there though, with huge, bare windows covering the plain white exterior, a flat roof, and several balconies lurking around the odd-shaped building. Bro rings the doorbell.

"Hello boys!" Roxy calls out to you from an upstairs window.  
"I'll be down in just a moment. Rose dear, could you let your cousins in?"

The door clicks and you're looking into Rose's perfectly decorated violet eyes. She smiles gently at you.

"Hello Dirk, Dave. Come in."

She stands to the side and Bro saunters into the house. Immediately he heads for the couch in the foyer and stretches himself out, arms resting on the top of the couch. You follow him slowly and collapse onto the armchair. Rose gently places herself next to Dirk and turns to face you.

"I noticed you were absent from school again today. Perhaps you were delayed due to saving some poor kitten from a tree or aiding a frail pensioner across the street rather than simply sleeping late again?" She smirks at you.

"You know it. It was just a never ending chain. I tried to tell them that I'm not some hero, I'm just an average everyday kid trying to make his way to school so he can get a decent day's worth of clean education; but those old ladies, man. They just keep needing someone to help them cross those god damn roads."

"Regardless, I assume you'll be attending tomorrow? I was rather hoping you would finally take up my invitation to join me at lunch."

"Pass. I don't really feel like subjecting myself to a table full of psychobabble and mind games for an entire hour."

"I told you, I am the only one among my friends with any interest in psychiatric endeavours, unfortunately, so I can promise you will not be under any unusual scrutiny. Besides, it would be enjoyable to interact with you properly more than once a week."

Bro sits up slightly and looks at you.

"Gotta say; she's right, Dave. It'd be good for you two to get some time to hang out. Family and whatnot."

The two of them stare you down. You groan.

"Fine. But I'm bringing Karkat and Terezi, if I can manage to drag them over."

Rose gives you a sly smile of triumph.

"The more the merrier."

Roxy's heels click on the stone steps as she descends the stairs.

"Boys. How are you?"

She has a martini in her hand, of course. Most of the time she hardly drinks it at all, but uses it for effect. She stands cooly at the bottom of the stairs, a hand on her waist, and smiles sleekly at the two of you.

"I've made Chicken Pecan for dinner. I hope you'll like it."

She heads into the dining room. Bro flips himself onto his feet and follows. You pull yourself up just as Rose speaks.

"So I have your word then?"

"Yeah, whatever, just promise me there won't be any weird bullshit."

"I promise."

"Okay, let's go eat. That stuff smells fucking delicious."

\----------------------------------------------------------------

The next morning you are awoken by several devices playing calming water and forest sounds so loudly you can hardly hear your own yell as they all go off at once.

"GOD DAMN IT BRO!"

You jump out of bed and hunt through your room for where he's hidden them all. You finally turn off the last one and hang your head in relief, ears still ringing. You get dressed and head into the kitchen. Bro's standing at the counter with a bowl in his hand.

"You could have just woken me yourself."

"Hey, you're up, ain't ya. Want some Cap'n Crunch? I got apple juice from the store, too."

You forgive him instantly, and accept the godly gifts he has bestowed upon you with a grateful nod. After a second helping of cereal, you grab your backpack from your bedroom and head out the door with a wave of your hand.

The school isn't far from your apartment block and so you're there in under fifteen minutes. You're still pretty early for class so you go to your locker to sort out some of your stuff. You're carrying around quite a bit of crap in your bag and so you start to empty it when you see Terezi.

"Hey TZ! Over here."

She turns and grins devilishly at you as she makes her way over, brandishing her cane. The other kids move out of the way. She doesn't really need it, but she thinks it's funny to make kids trip over themselves making way for her.

"Hello Dave. Nice to see you today!" She cackles.

"You too. Miss me much yesterday?" You smirk.

"Oh yes, Dave, we almost perished without you here."

"Pretty much as I expected. How did Karkat hold up?"

She sniggers. "He's pretty angry you weren't in Chemistry. He was on a rant about it for about half an hour this morning."

"Where is he anyway?"

"He went to get his things, he said he'd be back in-"

"STRIDER!"

Karkat comes stomping over to you with a vicious look in his eyes.

"Where the FUCK were you yesterday? Don't tell me you slept in again."

"Sorry bro, had to make sure I got enough winks to keep this face looking beautiful."

"If you think I'll be giving you notes on what you missed in Chemistry yesterday, THINK AGAIN FUCKER! Because I was so bored out of my fucking skull I had to spend the entire class trying not to toss myself out the nearest fucking window, so I never made any fucking shitty notes!"

"Sorry dude. Didn't know you were so dysfunctional without me."

"Fuck you."

Terezi sniggers. Karkat huffs and crosses his arms. You close your locker and heave your bag back over your shoulders.

"So hey, I was talking to Rose yesterday. She wants me to have lunch with her and her posse or whatever."

"That weird goth cousin of yours? She creeps me the fuck out."

"Dude, you've never even met her. She's really chill, I swear."

"I think it sounds fun!" Terezi grins sharply.

"Fuck, fine, whatever." Karkat rolls his eyes.

The three of you head to class and settle down in your usual seats. You pretty much pay attention to the lesson although you're sharing shitty doodles and notes with Karkat and Terezi for most of it. You hear an unfamiliar voice and look up. You see the back of a head covered in black, messy hair two rows in front of you. Must be some new kid. You get back to doodling.

Later, when the bell rings for lunch, you head towards the canteen with Karkat and Terezi in tow, scanning the crowd. Rose is seated at a table near the window. You catch her eye as you traipse over and she stands to greet you.

"Dave. Nice to see you. Karkat and Terezi, yes? It's certainly a pleasure to meet you."

"You too!" Terezi replies. Karkat nods severely, arms crossed.  
"Yeah, same to you, or whatever."

"Dave, you've already met Kanaya." Kanaya and you share a nod. She had sometimes had dinner in Rose's house with you. She was pretty cool.

"This is Jade-,"

The girl called Jade looks ridiculously cheerful. Not at all like Rose, she seems bouncy and innocent with a totally honest look on her face. Not at all what you had expected from a friend of Rose's. She seems nice enough though.

" -and this is John, Jade's cousin. He just joined the school."

You turn your head to meet the eyes of the boy, and get a jolt of surprise when you see his face. He looks incredibly familiar. His dark hair sticks out over his square framed glasses in a way you're sure you've seen before. You feel like you know the bright blue eyes that are staring back at you so intently. You stand in silence staring at him until Rose coughs.

"Alright, now that we're done with the introductions, would you three like to sit down?"

You snap out of your trance and turn to her.

"Uh yeah, sure."

You grab the chair next to her and plant yourself down on it stylishly, dropping your bag on the floor. Karkat takes the chair opposite you, next to Jade, and Terezi sits at the end of the table.

"Hey, you guys take Chemistry, right?" Jade suddenly asks, looking between you and Karkat.

"You mean that skin-tearingly tedious torture that somehow is legal to not only inflict upon teenagers, but also be controlled by psychopaths that have the gall to call it a 'class'?"

Jade blinks at Karkat.

"Uh yeah, I guess it is pretty boring, huh? I thought I saw you guys in there before. In fact, John was just asking me yesterday if I knew who you were!"

Everyone's eyes suddenly turn to John, who you are surprised to find seemed to have been looking at you, before he blushes at the sudden attention and his eyes fall to his shoes.

"I had just, seen you in a few of my classes I guess. Except you," he looks back up at you for a second before letting his gaze drop again.  
"Just Karkat and Terezi."

Kanaya tilts her head in interest. "A strange coincidence that you would notice the very two people we would be sharing a meal with the next day."

"Not really," Terezi cackles. "Karkat's really loud!"

Karkat huffs and crosses his arms.

"Anyway, to move on," Rose asserts, "Don't some of you need to buy food from the canteen?"

You rise from your seat and put your hands in your pockets.

"Good point Lalonde. Right; me, Karkat, who else is comin'?"

"Me and John!" Jade pipes up.

The four of you form a group as you walk towards the food counter. You decide to accustom yourself to this weirdly familiar kid and walk along side him, when you see today's menu.

"Aww yiss. Pizza." You announce. John grins widely.

"Oh wow, I haven't had good pizza in aaages!"

You turn to him and smirk.

"Didn't know you could have bad pizza."

He shoots you back a smile.

"I guess not."

Everyone grabs a tray and you get in line behind John.

"So, where you from?" you inquire as you're choosing the biggest, cheesiest slice of pizza from the selection available to you.  
"You just moved, right?"

"Yeah, from Washington. Though I had been down here before, when I was younger. Visiting Jade and our Grandpa and stuff."

You stop. He turns his attention back from the food to you.

"What?"

You shake your head.

"Nothing. I just..." He's wearing a confused expression.

"I dunno. Nothing. So what are you in to? Got any taste for music, like rap, or anything?"

"I don't really know about rap, but I can play the piano? I'm more in to magic stuff and movies. I'm not really good at the magic stuff though, I can only do a few card tricks."

"What movies then?"

He gives you a big, goofy smile, like he'd been waiting for you to ask.

"Well my favourite is Con Air, it's so great that-"

"Hang on," you cut him off.  
"You mean to tell me that you listed Movies as one of your main interests, and of all the movies you could have chosen, your favourite is Con Air?"

"Well, yeah!" his cheery expression now turns serious.  
"All the drama is there. It's an amazing story! The action is intense, and the acting is superb."

"You do realise Nicholas Cage plays the lead role, right?"

"Yes! His amazing insight in the undertaking of his character is what brings the whole film together!"

You can hardly help sniggering at him. He seems totally serious. It's kind of cute; in a dorky, inept way.

"Right. Let's go sit and eat."

After paying, you all head back to the table with the others, John still trying in vain to make you understand Con Air's cinematic prowess. Karkat and Jade are talking, possibly arguing(it's hard to tell with Karkat), as you sit back down, this time rearranged so you're sitting beside John.

You spend the rest of the hour chatting with everyone(though mostly John), and are surprisingly disappointed when the bell rings. Everyone grabs their things and start to leave. Finally, you're left with Rose.

"So, do you think you will be rejoining us for lunch again anytime soon?" She questions as you're putting your tray back on the rack.

"Yeah, I guess so. There wasn't as much weirdness as I was expecting. Plus they're kind of cool, I guess." You shrug.

She smiles.  
  
"Excellent. I had a feeling you would get along."

"Yeah, yeah, you were right. I gotta get to class, see you later."

You slip your bag back onto your back and stroll along to your Physics class. You're actually pretty glad Rose managed to convince you to come to lunch with her today. You think you'll be doing it a lot more in future.


End file.
